The Chicago Fire FC teased soccer under the skyline Monday with renderings of the team’s proposed $650 million South Loop stadium, to be bankrolled by billionaire owner Joe Mansueto.
Fans would stream down from Roosevelt Road into the 22,000-seat, open-air pitch on the north end of the parcel known as The 78 — the long-vacant area near Clark Street that White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf had coveted for a new stadium until Mansueto called dibs earlier this month.
The first detailed visions of the proposed stadium — which is already an approved use for the site, paving an easier path to city approval — suggest an unpretentious riverside venue beneath a sweeping vista of the Willis Tower.
Fire president Dave Baldwin told the Sun-Times the team wanted the design to harken back to “the City of Broad Shoulders” and its “rich industrial manufacturing heritage.”
“It has that Chicago warehouse feel, but also has a little bit of an enduring elegance to it — the brick facade, the steel, the glass, those are all things that were really important to Joe as we designed this,” Baldwin said. “Whether it’s opening day in 2028, or you fast forward 50 years and you come back to the stadium, it should still feel relevant to Chicago.”
Unlike the Chicago Bears or White Sox, the Fire gained instant momentum behind their proposal when announcing it earlier this month because Mansueto, a financial services magnate, isn’t asking taxpayers to foot the bill.
Megadeveloper Related Midwest — which has been trying to land a catalyst development at The 78 for years — is hoping to draw from a $450 million tax increment financing district approved seven years ago to bankroll infrastructure needed to prepare the site for development.
The potential portion of that TIF money most important to the Fire would be earmarked for “connectivity from Roosevelt to the stadium and the riverfront,” Baldwin said.
Their plan would see pedestrians descend from Roosevelt, which is about 35 feet above the river, over a “victory plaza” concealing a parking podium, and onto the stadium concourse.
“The actual pitch will essentially be at ground level,” Baldwin said.
The stadium would host about 20 Fire games per year, and potentially “another dozen or so major events,” Baldwin said, suggesting friendly international soccer matches, concerts and comedy shows.
“Think about how cool it would be, July 4th weekend, to have Sebastian Maniscalco or Kevin Hart playing this site right off the river.”
Other “smaller and more intimate” events could be booked in the offseason, too — from weddings, bar mitzvahs, and corporate events to soccer clinics and nonprofit functions.
Baldwin and officials from megadeveloper Related Midwest were set to host a community meeting to share details on the proposal with their potential South Loop neighbors.
While any traffic in or out of the long-vacant parcel would be a marked increase, Baldwin said “we’re pretty confident that the traffic impact that’ll be felt by residents should be relatively minor.”
The soccer stadium calculus would change if the Sox elbow their way onto The 78, as Reinsdorf publicly pitched last year.
The South Siders weren’t able to win over state lawmakers for public funding to help build a new diamond as taxpayers continue paying off Rate Field.
But just days after Mansueto announced his 78 bid, the Sox announced a potential transition of controlling ownership to billionaire Justin Ishbia, who could put more skin in the game for a ballpark, as lawmakers have urged the team to do.
While local Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd) has said she doesn’t think there’s room for two stadiums, the Fire aren’t shutting the door on the idea.
“We’re really excited about being the anchor tenant, and we’re excited about the private commitment that Joe’s making to catalyze The 78,” Baldwin said. “That said, if once we’re opened and down the road, the White Sox figure out that that’s where they want to be long-term and they want to have a conversation around it — and it makes sense for both teams, and it makes sense for community members, and it makes sense for the city of Chicago and both fan bases — then I think we’ll be open to sitting down then.
“But right now, we’re really focused on our project, and making sure that we keep the course.”
